What We're Experiencing is Culture Capture

The industrialization of thought is here to stay

The below was adapted from a post on X I wrote.

Just a few years ago, the primary source of skepticism about major societal issues—processed foods, vaccines, government surveillance, corporate overreach—came from one corner: the elite coastal left. These were the voices questioning the intentions of large corporations, doubting the safety of certain public policies, and advocating for a more conscientious society.

Today, however, that same elite coastal left no longer leads these charges. In fact, it now pillories anyone who dares raise concerns about such topics. How did this shift happen?

We often talk about "regulatory capture," where regulatory bodies meant to oversee industries end up serving the interests of those industries, usually due to the influence of money. But what we’re witnessing today is something much deeper and more pervasive—a phenomenon I call culture capture.

What Is Culture Capture?

Culture capture happens when the very institutions, individuals, and thought leaders responsible for guarding society against government and corporate overreach adopt the interests of these powerful entities as their own.

Unlike regulatory capture, which is often driven by financial incentives, culture capture thrives on emotional manipulation and the heat of cultural discourse. It’s not just a cold, calculated exchange of favors; it’s an emotionally charged defense of what should be questioned.

The irony here is sharp: the elite culture-makers who were once the critics have become the defenders of the very powers they used to challenge. We often label the current state of affairs as “hyper-partisanship,” but that’s too convenient. What’s really happening is that one side of the political spectrum has become deeply enmeshed in advancing the agenda of the state and big business, interests that are increasingly aligned.

The Full Capture of American Culture

With this cultural capture, we’ve now reached a point where there is top-down control of all the major estates of public life: government, business, and now culture. This phenomenon explains why:

- Satirists like Stephen Colbert mock the masses rather than lampoon the powerful elite, dancing with cartoon vaccines instead of questioning pharmaceutical giants.

- Pop stars like Taylor Swift use their platforms to rally electoral support for establishment candidates instead of challenging the status quo.

- The ACLU, once a staunch defender of civil liberties, remains silent in the face of illegal lockdowns and government overreach.

- The news media dismisses groundbreaking stories like the Twitter Files without even investigating, protecting the interests of the powerful instead of exposing them.

- Anti-incarceration activists cheer long prison sentences connected to January 6, a bizarre shift in the typical advocacy for leniency and reform.

- Kamala Harris’ refusal to speak to the press is celebrated by journalists, who see her silence as a virtue rather than a problem in a democracy.

- The abortion debate has shifted from a rights movement to a cultural celebration, losing sight of the gravity of the issue.

- Congressional corruption, such as members trading stocks with suspiciously high returns, is met with little more than a collective shrug.

What was once an open field of cultural criticism and debate has been transformed into an industrialized machine, churning out narratives that serve the interests of the powerful. The effect is all-encompassing, leaving almost no part of public culture willing or able to stand up against corporate encroachment, government overreach, and hypocrisy.

A Nervous Laughter

It’s why we hear phrases like, “They have Taylor Swift, we have Cat Turd,” said with a mix of irony and despair. The right, once a bastion of cultural defiance, is now left to laugh nervously at itself because it knows it no longer has the tools to shape the culture. It’s been relegated to the margins, where it finds solace in *anti-culture*—a space so stripped of meaning that it veers into the absurd and the nihilistic.

The result? At the far edges of the right, we find the “Woke Right,” a neo-Nazism that is less a coherent ideology and more a product of intellectual inbreeding—a grotesque reaction to being shut out of mainstream cultural production.

Taking Back Culture

What’s most troubling is that culture capture, unlike regulatory capture, is complete. There’s no single entity or policy to lobby against or vote out of office. The cultural institutions we once relied on—publishing, news, activism, tech, entertainment—have all been co-opted. They no longer serve the people; they serve power.

So what can be done? In an age where the best lack conviction and the worst are filled with passionate intensity, the only real answer is to reclaim a small piece of culture by creating something of meaning, substance, and courage. But to do this, we have to forget the narratives being pushed by the captured culture. We must also reject the anti-culture that seeks to destroy without building anything in its place.

We need to forget the moralizing of the elite, the scorn of the anti-elite, the stupidity of social media culture, and the fear that paralyzes us. In short, like the Dadaists of the early 20th century, we must begin by forgetting everything we’ve been told and start creating anew.

Culture capture is real, and it’s all but complete. The only way forward is to recognize it, reject it, and start creating the culture we want to live in—one that serves the people, not power.

Final Thought: A Call for New Creation

If there is a silver lining, it’s that the moment of total capture is also a moment ripe for new creation. We’re on the cusp of a new era where those brave enough to challenge the status quo and create something of real substance can start to push back against this industrialized culture.

To do this you've got to forget the finger-wagging moralisms of the captured culture, the hateful scorn of the anti-culture, the blunt stupidity of social media culture, the admonitions of gatekeeping culture, and the fear you have inside you. Like the Dadaism of the early 20th century, you have to start by forgetting everything.